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I hate not having a computer at home. Our laptop is in the shop getting some repair work done. Therefore the only computer I have access to is at the church. It is amazing how integrated technology is with our lives. I’ve only been without our computer for a few days and I feel like I have lost touch with the world. I guess there is a lesson to learn though. I believe that we probably need to get away from technology at times and just spend time with our loved ones and the Lord. This is a good thing. Well this will be a short blog (can you believe it?). I need to do some bill paying on line while I’m on my computer here at work before I get back to my technology absent life. It’s Saturday so I will see you guys tomorrow in worship.

I am amazed how we as people love to put our own take or personality on everything we touch. An example would be my friend Travis. He just started a blog and wouldn’t you know it the colors of his blog are bright orange and royal blue. For those of you who don’t know, my friend Travis is a GATOR. (The most obnoxious fans on the planet. Sorry a little commentary. Oh yea, it’s my blog so I can do that.) Like the color of our favorite sport teams or our sense of wit and dry humor or just our very personalities, everything we touch seems to be transformed into a little piece of us. As I carry this thought out I think about God. We are made in His image. That means that we all have the touch of God on us by the mere fact that He created us. I also think that once we come to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior the life change that takes place unlocks the full potential of God in our lives. A small part of His personality or image. God loves to leave His mark on people. God wants the relationship restored between Himself and humanity. That is exactly why He sent Christ to the Earth to live and die and take on our sins on Himself so that the relationship between Himself and humanity could be restored. The sad part is that most of humanity still rejects the invitation for the relationship to be restored. It must grieve the Father that His creation (humanity) that He has put His signature and touch on still does not acknowledge Him or even want to know Him as their creator. That is why God uses us to try to get through to others to tell them that they are the creation of God and that He wants to have a relationship with them through His son Jesus. We only have this life to make a difference. Once a person leaves this life the chance for reconciliation with the Father is over. That’s why we must work today, now to reach as many people as possible. We really must do whatever it takes to bring people to Christ. If that means stepping out of our comfort zone then we must, must, must do it. I truly thank God for a church that is willing to step out and do whatever it takes to reach a lost and dying world. I am thankful for the many churches that do this on a weekly basis. When we look at others we need to see the touch of God. We need to see His “team colors”. We need to see His personality written on people. We need to see the potential of changed lives for the Lord. I pray that we could be known as obnoxious fans for our Lord Jesus Christ because we only have this life to make a difference. Do others know you love God? Everyone knows that Travis and others like him are Gator fans. Can people recognize that you love God like an alumnus of UF love their Gators (Or Dallas fans love their Cowboys)? Help us God to love You and love others. What are your team colors?

Tuesday. Tuesday is usually a very busy day for me. I usually have meetings I am in with the Pastor and management team at C3 and then I have music rehearsal tonight until 8:30 or 9:00 pm. It is a busy day filled with lots of challenges and things to accomplish. Tuesdays are usually exciting and I expect no less from this day. Instead of starting my Tuesdays like I normally do and dive in head first with reckless abandoned I am taking time just to think and thank God for where He has me. First of all God has me in the center of His hand and I can’t be snatched out. What a blessing. Next He has me paired with my life mate, helper, best friend and the perfect person for me, my beautiful wife Andrea. God also has me working in the ministry that He has called me to be a part of. He has me using my talents as a musician for Him as my full time job (most people only get to pursue their talents as a hobby). All of this just blows my mind this morning. God is truly good to me and I am so blessed. I owe it all to the Lord because I could not have done anything on my own. I am so glad God believes in me no matter how flawed I am. I am reminded of a chorus of a new song we are going to sing this week at C3.

Oh, no, You never let go through the calm and through the storm. Oh, no, You never let go, every high and every low. Oh no, You never let go, Lord You never let go of me.

Good morning everyone. It is Monday morning of course and a point at which I can look back over the weekend and evaluate what kind of a weekend it was. Sundays are a culmination of a week’s full of work and the crowning jewel of the week. I believe Sunday’s are what makes the weekend so special for me. This last Sunday was no exception. It was great to see a good crowd and people just worshiping God.

I had a friend in town this weekend. The last time he attended church here was six years ago. This friend moved out of town and now attends and is active in a very large Southern Baptist Church. The church that he attends is an awesome church and has reached many people for Christ over the years. If I were to name this church almost every person in Baptist circles would know the church and their former pastor who was a household name in Southern Baptist circles. My friend is a musician and even used to play the bass here when we were Parkway Baptist years ago. He now plays the bass at the church were he is a member. He shared with me that about a year ago they tried to do something a little more contemporary in their Wednesday night services in order to reach a generation that is on the decline in this church. He said the musicians and music minister were pumped up to do this “new” praise band format with more contemporary music then what the church is normally used to. They thought Wednesday night would be a good option to ease into it. My friend told me that they did the new format on a Wednesday night and there was such a backlash of complaints and disgruntled older adults that they immediately killed the plan for a more contemporary Wednesday night service. My friend said that the older adults thought that they were bringing too much of the “world” into the church. The older adults said that the look, the music and the feel were too “worldly” and that they could still reach people without those kind of changes. But by my friend’s admission the younger generation is on a steady decline in this church. My friend thought it was a shame that they could not do something a little different to reach people in the city in which he lives.

My friend attended C3 this weekend and was blown away. He really liked the worship and the energy. The worship was different than what he is normally used to but I think in a small way he and his wife get why we do church the way we do. When I shared with them that over two hundred people had prayed to receive Christ since last august they were amazed. Is reaching the lost more important than our traditions, programs and our “church social club” atmosphere? You better believe it is.

Andrea was telling me last night that her friend whom she works with that had never attended church before visiting C3 and prayed to receive Christ a week before Easter was talking to her yesterday. Andrea’s friend knows nothing about the Christian walk and is so hungry to learn. Yesterday Andrea shared the story of Paul, how he was a persecutor of Christians and then became a great soul winner after his conversion to Christ. Andrea said that her friend had tears in her eyes and said that truly God can save anyone including herself and her friends she is concerned about. It is people like Andrea’s friend and the many who have come to know Christ every Sunday that makes the struggles to be a relevant church devoted to changed lives worth it. It is also so awesome to see my friend who I had not seen in a while get the vision if only for a brief moment while he is visiting from another city. It is also great to have a conversation with a friend who has come back to C3 after a change of heart that Christ has done. The excitement in the air yesterday was contagious and refreshing. So was the weekend good? Yes and yesterday was truly the crowning jewel of a week of worship. Praise be to God!

Ladies… check out my blog on “The Real Staff Wives of Orange County” at http://www.c3wives.blogspot.com. If you have any fun tips relating to the blog “Beauty from the Inside Out” feel free to share yours as well!

Love one another? They will know you by your love for one another? Love, it is one of the foundational building blocks of Christianity. We preach love to the “world” or the “lost” and feel great about being spiritual giants while being no better than the very people we preach to. The sad thing is that a great number of Christians do not practice love to each other let alone to people that don’t have a relationship with Christ. Doesn’t that make us, should I say it, (the “H” word) hypocrites. I know this sounds very cynical but it has been hard to see how my friends, brothers and sisters, fellow leadership team members, Pastor and I have been excoriated by other Christians for doing everything we can to reach the lost. The hatred and bitterness that is directed at so many of us on a daily basis is really sad. We can talk about all of the Christian principles and knowledge that we have and feel all good about our Christianity but until we can get the basics down, like LOVE are we really Christians. Jesus told us the greatest commandment is love and I think that He must be ashamed by the way His people act, not toward the world but toward each other. I am far from perfect and readily acknowledge that I do not love like I should all of the time. I get it right sometimes and sometimes I don’t. I know that God will grant grace for the times that I don’t get it right. I just hope that people that don’t know the Lord do not catch me in that moment when I am not practicing love like I should and then be turned off by Christianity. I pray that lost people are not listening to or watching the way Christians are treating other Christians right now and are being turned off by Christianity. For all the people that have left C3 with hatred and bitterness and agendas to tear down other Christians and the work at C3 I just have one word for you. LOVE. They will know us by our love for one another. No matter what some of my fellow Christians might say about me and the church I am a part it doesn’t matter. I have three more words for you, I LOVE YOU!

Good Monday morning y’all. Yesterday was awesome we had a great morning of worship. People were very free and in touch with the move of God yesterday in our service. It is so refreshing to see people worshiping and praising God. Yesterday’s message on eternal security was awesome as well. God spoke through pastor Byron to explain how once you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior that you can never be snatched out of His hand. To be able to see how all of the new Christians at C3 reacted and took in the message was great. Then to lead a worship segment after the message was just powerful! God is truly moving at C3 and I am just thankful that I can be a part of it.

Yesterday was also Father’s Day. It was awesome that on Saturday night my best friend Blaine Back and his beautiful wife Stacy had a brand new beautiful baby girl, Bryleigh. So Father’s Day was extra special to Blaine. I am so happy for Blaine and Stacy. Congrats!

It is quite an unique perspective on Father’s Day for me. Father’s Day is one of those days that I try not to think or dwell on too much. Not that I don’t think that Father’s Day is cool and special but that I no longer get to celebrate it with my Dad. Once you have a parent pass away you look at these days with a little sadness. My Dad was awesome and I thank God that He gave me such a wonderful Dad but this day comes with heartache that I never get to be with him anymore. So I do celebrate Father’s Day but from a different perspective. It is a day of thanks to God for the life of my father and sadness that I don’t have an earthly father anymore.

So now it’s Monday and I am able to look back on Sunday. It was a great day and a sad day at the same time and good all in all. It was great to celebrate my wife’s birthday, to worship with my spiritual family at C3 and to think about a great Dad that God gave me for a season of time. A great way to start the week!